A Cure—and some Questions

Given the economy of Mark’s gospel, a few verses can draw forth subtle meanings and many questions. Such is the case for this week’s gospel, when Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law. For centuries, Catholic hierarchs have insisted on a celibate clergy, neatly glossing over the fact that if first pope Peter had a mother-in-law, Peter had a wife.

And what of her story? Did she too long to follow the teacher? Did she resent his luring away her husband, only source of the family’s income? Did anyone consult her about the crowd gathered at her door, seeking healing? In the vast St. Peter’s basilica, is there a single statue to her?

And what about her mom? Some have called the line “then the fever left her and she waited on them” as the ultimate male fantasy. Of course a seriously ill woman, recently healed would leap to her feet and cook dinner for the disciples?! Unanswered questions, rumblings and undertones here.

No question about Jesus. Clear and decisive, he grasps the sick woman’s hand and soothes the fever as mothers have for centuries.

So where’s the center of gravity? I like to focus on the hand of Jesus, outstretched to heal, reaching beyond all the difficulties in the passage, and probably the tensions in the house of the fisherman. It prompts us to think of all the hands, literal and figurative, that have held us through crisis, loneliness, illness. No matter what our fevers—anxieties, money or health problems, relationship issues, concerns about climate change or war—God initiates the healing,  extends the soothing hand.